An Unwanted Inheritance

By: Imogen Clark

Narrated by: Bronwen Price

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From million-copy bestselling author Imogen Clark comes a story of three siblings and a suitcase full of cash. Will the unexpected windfall tear them apart?

When their father dies unexpectedly, siblings Max, Ellie and Nathan can’t even contemplate emptying his house—not least because he spent his last decade curating what feels like a museum to his polished public image. So it is Max’s wife, Caroline, who finds the suitcase under a bed… A suitcase stuffed full of an awful lot of cash.

The source of the money is a mystery to them all, and each has a strong opinion about what to do with it. Ellie and her husband James have an expensive lifestyle to maintain and could do with their share of the windfall—James in particular, for reasons he doesn’t dare reveal. Nathan can’t be trusted with money, as the others all know; he’s desperate to get his hands on some (or all) of the cash. But Caroline is the one guarding the suitcase, and she’s insisting to Max that they take it to the police.

The three siblings have always been close. But now, with this money from nowhere threatening to rewrite what they thought they knew about their father and their family, nothing seems certain. Could it really tear them apart?

©2022 Blue Lizard Books Ltd. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A cleverly crafted and impressively original story by gifted novelist Imogen Clark and superbly…brought to life by the storytelling talents of Bronwen Price.”—Midwest Book Review

“Brimful of emotion—a wonderful plot and characters that you are rooting for, even when you know you shouldn’t. An Unwanted Inheritance is that gem of a thing: a story to truly lose yourself in. I LOVED IT!”–Faith Hogan, bestselling author of The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club

“What happens when you drop a bag of cash right in the middle of three siblings and their families? A whole lot of good fun and drama. An Unwanted Inheritance delightfully explores the flaws that come with being human as Clark plunges us into a story about what is right and wrong and what it means to be a family. She ratchets up the tension as the story races to its surprising and oh-so-satisfying conclusion.”—Boo Walker, bestselling author of The Singing Trees

An enjoyable listen when you want a simple fluff read

I listened to audio version of this novel.
Pros: original plot; likeable main character; effective narrator who voiced the various characters well. Cons: glossy rather than realistic storytelling, characters that stayed rather two-dimensional; weak ending. Overall: Meh. It was entertaining enough as a light read, but I won't seek out other books by this author. I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid it, but at the same time I wouldn't recommend it to friends.

I was so frustrated

I rarely write a review like this but I advanced the last two hours of this book by half to get to the end. Even sped up the read time to push through. The writer wanted to give suspense and mystery but gave it to such an unlikeable character that I just wanted to give up at times. I plan on letting my kids know that if they ever find** spoiler alert
a suitcase full of cash under my bed just spend it and don't ask questions. The last two hours could have been wrapped up in 20 minutes. I found this exhausting and couldn't wait for it to be over.
The narrator was good and kept me engaged but the Caroline character...ugh. So annoying. I was irritated that I spent so much time listening to this.

Just okay, not much of a story!

It was okay, but not much of a story. About found money, moral decisions, sibling relations and friendship. Story felt like missed opportunity to get into any real issues. Friends and siblings argueing, but not really caring about each other. One brother has a gambling problem that no one mentions or talks about and the big action scene is a party where they get drunk and say mean thjngs to each other. Clark has done better!

Just so so for me

Loved the accents but the story was sort of flat for me. I would pass on this one.

Uninspired

There was so much that could have been done with these characters but unfortunately, they did nothing. Even the important parts weren’t important. This is sort of a read the book - or don’t read the book. It’s not going to make a difference at all.

Don’t waste a credit

Couldn’t wait for this to be over! Totally lackluster, superficial, boring characters, most of them whiny and self-absorbed. I agree with a Kindle reviewer’s assessment, I, too, disliked them all by the end.

REALLY frustrating/miserable?!

I guess as it was SO based on frustration and misunderstanding, that was my main takeaway after hearing. Hoping for some spark to come along and save it, to me nothing did. sad to have spent the time.

Very weak story

Great Narrator but such a wishy washy story. No substance and predictable story. I do I've Bronwen Price

A Disappointment

I won't say there weren't any things the author did well, but the characters were one dimensional and simplistic. The conclusion felt rushed. Disappointed that we didn't get a conclusion including all the characters. the whole thing ended lamely.